CBN Governor sees oil staying above $80, tight interest rates

Oct 8, 2018

Nigeria’s central bank doesn’t see the price of oil falling below $80 a barrel this year and expects to keep monetary policy tight until inflation returns toward its target, Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters in London on Sunday.

The central bank has held interest rates at a record high 14% since 2016 to fight inflation that has breached its target band of 6% to 9% for more than three years and quickened in August for the first time in 19 months.

He also said Nigeria would continue to intervene to support its exchange rate, although he noted the pressure on the bank and the country’s currency reserves had been less than those on other emerging markets.